nterview by Ojo Abayomi
1.Sir, you have come a long way, from your first Album 'Seven Lifes' in 1997, to 'Soundbender' your latest studio work released in 2015. With more than 10 Albums behind you, what was the journey like?
It has been a colourful journey with many challenges and successes. I started writing songs 40 years ago and always knew the path I would follow but one can never totally predict the nature of the challenges that would come. However, I have been blessed with the kind of attitude that engages and surmounts any challenge with courage and positivity.
2. Your music is deeply spiritual, like a dot connecting this world with the world unseen, how do you get your inspirations?
Songs come to me in many ways - sometimes I get a song in full, with melody, rhythm and lyrics in one package, just like that, a flash of inspiration and I will sit down quickly and write the lyrics. But, many times, I get a melody (tune) in my head for years before eventually filling in the words. Often, it's the other way around - I write a poem and, over time, work in a melody. Songs come to me anywhere and at anytime - while I'm walking, in bed, in the bathroom. Sometimes I respond to what I see, hear, smell, experience, I am especially always touched by the struggles that people go through in search of happiness and fulfillment.
3. I have been a lover of your songs and poetry very since 2004, when I came in contact with ''What A Feeling!". One major similarity, also well manured in your latest work 'Soundbender', is the use of ancient traditional folktales and wisdom to pass across key messages. How have you managed to keep so close to the eternal traditions of our forefathers against the backdrop of today's culture-less pop-age?
When something is deeply embedded in you and you are willing to walk the walk, you don't have to work too hard to bring it out and share with the world. I was given a gift, I can dip into the eternal pot of traditional wisdom, find a truth, coat it in a contemporary garb and present it for the enlightenment and enrichment of all of us. I have been doing this for a long time so it has become second nature. Everywhere I perform or speak, I always impress it on my audience that if folks in Africa want to make any progress and step into their higher selves, then we must re-embrace traditional wisdom; the best equipped African is the one who is a perfect amalgam of ancient traditional wisdom and modern knowledge. I was blessed to have been raised in this way and my music is a reflection of that perfect combination.
4. It is said that every great artist has their favourite works, although your fans enjoy all your works (I do), which among them do you personally hum to, or sing alone in your closet? Why?
It is always difficult to pick one. I love each one for a different reason and, sometimes, that has nothing to do with the melody or rhythm. Also, as I am always thinking of the next recording or album, I don't spend much time admiring what I have done so far.
5. For me, it appears that your music seek to achieve more than mere auditory satisfaction, do you think that 'art as a radically tool' of positive influence, can help salvage Nigeria from ethic/religious crises?
Music has a powerful effect on the human mind, especially music with a message. If the message is negative, it can turn a people into greedy and selfish mass who can only create a chaotic and backward society. But positive messages serve to guide, enlighten, educate and help to build a society of people who care genuinely for one another and exhibit true love, selflessness and good neighbourliness. True social change and development come from the ground up, not top down. We need to pursue total change in what we think, say and do. We need a THOUGHT REVOLUTION - a change in how we engage with our community, our society, our country. If we want that change and progress, then each one of us must be ready to give all we've got, all your energy, talent, ingenuity, make all the necessary sacrifice so that those coming after us can meet a better land. We cannot keep dipping in the pot and not replenishing it. In "Ohun Oju Nri" (from the 'Fere' album) I say, "Everyone of us has a share in the blame for the failure of society" and I plead that we must teach the children the right values - honesty, truth, hardwork, patience, perseverance and good neighbourliness - so that the future can be better than our present. More of such music is sorely needed in a country at a crossroads like Nigeria. We must build our people's minds with high quality music not continue to dumb them down.
6. Taking you back in time to the lover's favourite, 'Oh what a feeling...", was the song inspired by some love adventures?
I wrote the Yoruba part of the song while in high school in 1984. It wasn't about anyone or any specific romantic adventure. The words and melody just came to me like that and I kept them in my head until about 1994 when I added the English lyrics and then the song felt complete. My early inspiration for the Yoruba part was a female classmate with whom I was very close but there was never anything romantic there.
7. In your latest work 'Soundbender', we have 15 hot tracks, was any of these dedicated to lovers? What is the inspirations behind the album?
The songs in "Soundbender" speak for themselves. Anyone who listens to the album will emerge feeling emotionally stronger and lifted - that's the power in music that is performed with honesty of purpose. I don't think of what will sell when writing or recording songs - I record what I like, I follow the inspiration that comes to me and, because of that, those who listen with a keen mind develop a deep connection that is hard to explain to those who don't get it. You mustn't be impatient with your friends or family who don't understand your obsession with this music though. We all come to musical and emotional maturity at different times - they will get to love and embrace the music when their minds are ready.
As Nigeria’s movie
industry, Nollywood, gets bigger and more competitive, among the hottest and
fastest rising stars are the three beautiful sisters; Choma, Chidinma and
Lillian Okoli, who between them have featured in more than 90 Nollywood movies.
When I met my first love, the feeling was divine. I experienced what you call
“love at first sight”
